Winterborne Houghton, Blandford Forum, DT11

A HANDSOME DETACHED VILLAGE HOME WITH EXCELLENT ACCOMMODATION AND A LARGE ATTRACTIVE GARDEN.

Well located in the popular village of Winterborne Houghton, Blackthorn House is an impressive detached property of some quality. It has been home to our client’s family since shortly after it was built in the mid 1960’s and in all that time the house has been extremely well maintained and cleverly updated, although there is now scope for some simple improvement. Neatly presented with attractive hardwood or ceramic tiled floors through the ground floor, the accommodation extends to nearly 2,700 sq/ft and comprises three separate reception rooms and a large kitchen/breakfast room with a separate utility area, five good bedrooms and four bath/shower rooms, with all of the principal rooms looking into the south facing back garden. Previous improvements include installation of modern double glazing and an array of solar hot water and PV panels, and along with levels of insulation that could easily be improved, this all goes to make Blackthorn House a thoroughly practical and comfortable family home in a lovely rural location. The property also comes with the benefit of planning permission to build another four bedroom detached house of about 2,000 sq/ft house in the garden to the east (see Agents’ Note).

Set back from the lane behind a tall hedge, Blackthorn House has the advantage of generous gardens on three sides and being roughly south facing at the back the sun is moving around the house all day. To the front a large level lawn has a gravel drive to one side leading up to a linked garage and a path to the front door. The back garden has been cleverly landscaped and rises up in a series of large terraces which include a level lawn, mature cultivated and natural borders and seating areas from where you can enjoy the view back across the valley. On the opposite side of the drive another area of garden starts with a lawn and small orchard and rises up the slope to a wild area along the back boundary. Covering about half of the garden, this is the area that benefits from planning permission for another house.

Winterborne Houghton is a small village located at the head of one of the pretty valleys to the west of Blandford, a stones’ throw from Bulbarrow and Milton Abbas. There is wonderful walking, cycling and riding in the countryside around the village most of which is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), and within half an hour you can be enjoying water sports in Poole Harbour, walking on the beach at Studland Bay, through Wareham Forest or along Dorset’s renowned Jurassic coastline. Although quiet and rural, this location is by no means isolated and there is plenty going on in the villages along the valley. Winterborne Stickland has a pub, nursery school and sports club and over the hill in Milton Abbas there is another pub, a post-office, an award-winning farm shop and Doctor’s surgery. For a wider range of services, it is only a short drive to Blandford with its Georgian market square, M&S Food Hall, Tesco and Lidl superstores, and in about half an hour by car you can be in the county town of Dorchester, or in Poole or Sherborne. Easy access onto the A350/A31 makes commuting to Poole, Ferndown and Bournemouth straight forward, and the M27 provides an easy link to Southampton and Portsmouth, and the M3 up to London. The nearest train station is Poole (London Waterloo about 2 hours). The airports at Southampton and Bournemouth are also within easy reach and this part of Dorset has become popular because of the number good schools. The local primary school is in Winterborne Whitechurch, and state secondary school in Blandford or Dorchester. Independent schools nearby include Bryanston, Clayesmore, Canford and Milton Abbey (on the doorstep) with prep schools at Sandroyd, Hanford, Castle Court and Dumpton.

Mains water and electricity are available at the property. Private drainage (septic tank). Oil fired heating with solar hot water and PV panels. Good Broadband.

Agents Note:
Blackthorn House comes with the benefit of outline consent to build a detached house of circa 2,000sq/ft on the eastern part of the garden. Consent ref: P/CLP/2023/03907 is available for inspection online at Dorset Council Planning Portal. Application ref: 2012/115/PLNG includes some indicative drawings. The sale contract may include a simple overage clause entitling the sellers to receive a modest payment based on the value of the new house on occupation of that house (if the new house isn’t built, nothing is payable).